Customer Reviews

Hawking HRPG1 HomeRemote Pro Control and Remote Monitoring Internet Gateway (White)

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Update April 6, 2010: After several additional conversations with 'Cal' at Hawking home automation tech support, I have finally given up on the Hawking gateway and camera, tossed both in the garbage bin, and purchased a Vera gateway from MiCasaVerde. I have been able to attach to all devices in my home and have everything working perfectly (including the Wayne-Dalton thermostat). The Vera control website is easy to use and there is no subscription fee (unlike Hawking). Additionally, there is a very active forum on the MiCasaVerde website that is excellent in terms of describing proper device set-up, potential modifications, etc. I regret having wasted as much time and money as I did on the Hawking set-up, but I'm thrilled with the Vera and with MiCasaVerde. If you are considering the Hawking gateway - just don't. Buy a Vera.

Original Review: I did quite of bit of research looking for technology that would let me control lights, appliances and thermostat settings via the internet for our vacation home. From a design perspective, Hawking's z-wave controller has all of the features I was looking for. Individual devices can be turned on and off, devices can be linked to simultaneously turn on or off and "scenes" can be created to execute a series of commands based on a schedule or the activation of a single device (e.g. turn on one light and a series of devices can be turned on).

But great designs are worthless if the technology is extremely immature and/or full of bugs. Compound these problems with one of the worst tech support groups I've ever dealt with and you'll have Hawking's Home Automation product group (note - Hawking's home automation tech support is not the same as the India-based group that supports their networking and computing products...unfortunately Home Automation seems to be staffed by one gentleman named "Cal" whose standard answer is "send an email to the product manager" - not one of which as ever been answered).

I have been able to get lights and appliances to turn on/off on a basic schedule. Now the list of things that don't work. I have reported all these to Hawking with not a single response (as yet - but I'm still hoping!) from the mysterious product manager:

1. The gateway does not recognize my Wayne Dalton thermostat as a thermostat. As a result, I can not adjust temperature settings or even see the current temperature in the house. This is a known problem - still waiting for a fix from Hawking. No response since July 2009

2. The gateway gets its current time from Hawking's servers. The Hawking server time is now off by two hours. To fool the server, I have to set all of my on/off times two hours earlier than I actually want them to occur. Problem reported to Hawking in April 2009 with no response from the "product manager".

3. Hawking's HRPC2 camera (designed to work with this gateway) would not work as long as I was using a Motorola cable modem and wireless router. Reported the problem to tech support (Cal, as usual) and was told that there was no problem. When I finally switched to a Linksys router, I got the camera to work (after several hours of playing with settings). Unfortunately the picture quality is terrible and many of the features do not work as described.

You should be able to tell that I really, really, REALLY want this technology to work. I have dozens of hours invested in trying workarounds and dealing with "Cal", the solo tech support guy. Unfortunately, it's just too full of bugs and Hawking seems disinterested in this part of their product line. I suspect that they haven't sold enough of these things to warrant any real effort. If they'd just work with me, I would happily update this review. Reading the reviews for the HRPC2 camera (all of which are 1-star), I see that I'm not alone in my frustration with Hawking. I have started researching alternative technologies and can't wait to toss all of this Hawking equipment in the garbage bin.

I have had some version of this product for over 3 years and I can agree with the other reviewers that the tech support for this product is about as bad as it gets. There is one U.S. based tech support person who only works M-F during business hours in the Pacific time zone. Having said that, I can say that this unit does control the Wayne -Dalton Thermostat and various light switches and appliances. I was looking for an inexpensive home automation solution to control my vacation cabin and this seemed to fit the need. Now here is where reality sets in. You have to be somewhat of a DIY'er with this stuff. Hawking (and to some extent, the Z-Wave community) definitely makes you think this stuff is plug & play right out of the box. It isn't. In a perfect world it is, but everyone's setup is different and things always don't work as advertised. Sometime you have tinker with things here and there. Example, getting the HomeRemote Pro to recognize the Wayne-Dalton thermostat can be somewhat tricky - press the "Bind" button on the thermostat too long when setting it up and it shows up on the HomeRemote Pro as an On/Off switch not as a thermostat. So why am I giving it 3 stars? Well, it should be 2 1/2 stars. Once you get things working - it stays fairly reliable and I really like the web interface. The scenes (timers) that can be set up are not that sophisticated, but it does the job. This is probably the least expensive intelligent Z-wave controller out there. For under $200 you can get this and a Wayne-Dalton thermostat to control the heat and air conditioning in a remote home. If I was starting over, I would probably go with the MiCasaVerde Vera - it is way more robust and their tech-support is 1st rate, but it is not inexpensive.

First I want to say that overall, I'm very happy with this system. This includes the ease of setting it up and the simple but effective web control interface. Now for my gripe! There is a subscription service for full access to the available z-wave control. This service is just under $10 per month. Inside the box, there is a coupon for three months of free service upon initial activation. After completing my installation, I was at the subscription phase. I was unable to activate my 3 month free trial so I called their customer support. I was promptly told that they no longer honor this 3 month free deal eventhough I have a voucher (with no expiration date) for it. This to me is an indication of poor customer service and makes me skeptical to their service should I really need their help. Also, there is a brief setup guide but full instructions can only be obtained on line. Just have a lot of paper in your printer!

I have looked and I can not find any mention of what it cost to sign up for the HomeRemote Pro Website membership, so that I can access a HomeRemote Pro system remotely via my cell phone.

If anyone finds this info please post it here because I do not want to drop $100 on a "HomeRemote Pro starter kit" just so I can sign up for the HomeRemote Pro remote access to see if the monthly/yearly subscription price is reasonable.